Semiconductor laser diodes have numerous advantages. They are small in that the widths of their active regions are typically submicron to a few microns and their heights are usually no more than a fraction of a millimeter. The length of their active regions is typically less than about a millimeter. The internal reflective surfaces, which are required in order to produce emission in one direction, are formed by cleaving the substrate from which the laser diodes are produced and, thus, have high mechanical stability. Additionally, high efficiencies are possible with semiconductor laser diodes with pulsed junction laser diodes having external quantum efficiencies near 50% in some cases.
The cost and packaging of laser diodes are problems that has limited their commercialization. It is only recently that both the technology and availability of laser diode bars, and a method for packaging them, has made two dimensional laser diode pump arrays a commercial reality. One technique for producing such a two dimensional laser diode array is demonstrated in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,040,187 and 5,128,951 to Karpinski. Also, newer techniques have been used to make more efficient an older packaging approach whereby individual diodes are sandwiched between two metallic foils. The advent of lower cost laser diodes and efficient packaging has led to the possibility of producing very large, solid-state laser systems which use many pump arrays.
While laser diode pump arrays have a relatively long life when compared to the traditional flash-lamp or arc-lamp pump sources, they are still considered consumable items that require periodic replacement. In some cases with modularized laser diode arrays, one may even wish to replace only a portion of the array. For pulsed lasers, the number of shots which the laser diode arrays have fired is recorded. For continuous-wave (CW) lasers, the amount of time the laser diode arrays have operated (time-on) is of interest. Typically, these values are monitored and stored within the external electronic control systems which operate these laser systems. These electronic control systems must contain a shot-counter or time-on counter for each laser diode pump array to determine the relative age of each laser diode array thereby permitting the development of a replacement schedule for each laser diode array. However, when a laser diode pump array is replaced, these shot-counters or on-timers must have the ability to be reset to zero if a new laser diode array is used. If a used laser diode array is installed, then these shot-counters or on-timers must have the ability to be reset to a predetermined value. Furthermore, when a laser diode array is removed from a system for replacement, a difficulty arises in that there is no longer a shot count or on-time associated with the pump array, unless written records are meticulously kept.
In addition to the shot-count there is other information about a diode array that is of particular interest, such as the serial number of the array, the number and frequency of over-temperature fault conditions, and the voltage drop (i.e. the resistance rise) across the array. These characteristics are useful for selecting an application for a used laser diode array, or for determining the causes of its failure. These characteristics are also important for warranty purposes. However, the operator of the system has no interest in recording these data since it may limit his or her ability to rely on the warranty when a failure arises. On the other hand, the manufacturer has a keen interest in knowing the operational history of an array for warranty purposes.
When semiconductor laser diodes are used as the optical pumping source for larger, solid-state laser systems, the emitted wavelength is critical. Laser diode pump arrays achieve efficient pumping of the laser host material (e.g. Neodymium-doped, Yttrium-Aluminum Garnet) by emitting all of their light energy in a very narrow spectral band which is matched to the absorption spectrum of the gain media (i.e. slabs, rods, crystals etc.), typically within 2-6 nanometers full-width at the half-maximum point (fwhm). The laser diode pump array emission wavelength is a function of the temperature at which the pump array is operated. The pump array temperature is a complicated function of many interrelated variables. The most important of these variables are the temperature of the coolant flowing to the diode array, the operational parameters of the diode array, and the configuration of the heat exchanger on which the laser diodes are mounted. The operational parameter of a CW driven array is simply the drive current. But for pulsed laser systems, the peak drive current, the repetition rate, and the pulse width of the drive current are all important operational parameters. Because the performance of the laser diode array changes during the service life of a laser diode array, the host external system controller has to compensate for any degradation of performance (output power or wavelength) by modifying these input operational parameters except for the heat exchanger configuration. Often, the altering of the operational parameters requires manual calibration of the arrays using external optical sensors. This is a tedious job and requires a skilled technician who understands the ramifications of modifying the interrelated variables which change the output power and wavelength. Even when the laser diode array's operational parameters are properly calibrated, rapid changes in the performance of the laser diode array may go unnoticed until the next scheduled maintenance. This manual calibration also is often required during the initial installation of the laser diode array assembly.
Therefore, a need exists for a laser diode array assembly that includes an integral means for recording operational events and maintaining this information with the assembly throughout its service life. It would also be beneficial for this laser diode array assembly to have the capability of instructing the external laser operating system on the input drive parameters that should be used to provide for optimal output of the laser diode array assembly.